visual c++ vs visual c++ .net

This is a discussion on visual c++ vs visual c++ .net within the C++ Programming forums, part of the General Programming Boards category; I have microsoft visual C++. do i need to buy microsoft visual c++ .net, to do .net programming, or are ...

It's a matter of versions. By Microsoft Visual C++ I assume you mean version 6. You can't do .Net development with that one.
The next version (internal name 7.0) is Microsoft Visual C++.Net (2002). You can do .Net development with this one.
The newest version (internal name 7.1) is Microsoft Visual C++.Net 2003. You can do everything you could do with .Net 2002, but in addition the normal C++ compiler is very much improved.
The coming version currently has the code name Whidbey and is, if I'm not mistaken, in Beta stage. It will eventually be called Microsoft Visual C++.Net 2005.

I remember a similar conversation on a topic I posted. It concerned the Borland versus VC++ 6 versus VC++ .NET.

the .NET compiler in 2003 is alot more efficient then the normal VC++ 6 compiler. So thats a plus because it helps your program run faster and uses resources more efficiently. the .NET framework is optional and you can develop normal COM applications. Another plus with .NET 2003 is that its more complient with standards, such as ANSI. So you dont have to learn propietary coding techniques.

The language is almost identical BUT there are some minor differences. But most of the changes between versions is on the compiler level so you dont really have to worry about much.

In short, if you want to do .NET programming, just go out and buy the latest version of Visual c++ [or Visual Studio] .NET.